Alike but Not the Same (Grades 9-12)

Overview: Students conduct a classwide inventory of human traits, construct histograms of the data they collect, and play a brief game that introduces students to major concepts related to human genetic variation and the notion of each individual's uniqueness.

Concepts: This lesson covers the following concepts:

Evolution results from selection acting upon genetic variation within a population.

Natural selection acts on phenotype as an expression of genotype.

Grade Level: 9-12

Time: 50 minutes

Teacher Background: Explore these links for additional information on the topics covered in this lesson:

Teaching Tips: This activity is an introduction to several activities within a module entitled Human Genetic Variation. We also recommend the second activity in this module: The Meaning of Genetic Variation. These activities focus on variation but could easily be extended to address variation's role in evolution.